FOLLOWING more than 500 days of intense negotiations between Britain and Brussels, EU27 leaders this morning signed off the Brexit deal after barely 40 minutes of discussion.

Donald Tusk, the European Council President, made the announcement after signalling on Saturday that the deal would be approved following a withdrawal of last-minute concerns over Gibraltar by Spain.

Leo Varadkar, the Irish premier, said signing off the deal represented the culmination of nearly two years of work.

Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister, said the EU-UK deal was the “best we can all do, both Theresa May and her Government as well as the European Union”.

He went on: “I have lots of respect for Theresa May and what she has done over the last two years and particularly the last two or three weeks. I do think she has everything now to argue for a yes vote in the British Parliament."

However, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission President, warned that Britain could not expect to get a better Brexit deal if Parliament rejected the agreement.

"This is the deal. It's the best deal possible and the EU will not change its fundamental position when it comes to these issues," he declared.

“This is the best we can all do both Theresa May and her Government as well as the European Union. I do think she has everything now to argue for a yes vote in the British Parliament," he added.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said the deal was a "necessary step" to prepare for the next phase of negotiations which the Government hopes will result in a wide-ranging free trade agreement.

"Now it is time for everybody to take their responsibility. This deal is a necessary step to build the trust between the UK and the EU we need to build.

"The next phase is an unprecedented and ambitious partnership. We will remain allies, partners and friends."

Ahead of the meeting the Prime Minister issued a direct plea to the public to support the plan - branded "desperate" by Nicola Sturgeon.

In a "letter to the nation", Mrs May said leaving the EU on March 29 2019 would mark "a new chapter in our national life" and there would be a moment of "renewal and reconciliation" after the bitter battles over Europe.

The almost 800-word message was an attempt to speak directly to the public to build support for her deal, which faces widespread opposition at Westminster including from both wings of her Conservative Party and the Democratic Unionist Party which props up her administration.

The PM has already said she will travel “up and down the country” to sell her Brexit plan and echoed David Cameron’s message ahead of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign, saying she would be "campaigning with my heart and soul" to win the vote in the Commons.

In her message, she said the deal "works for every part of our country; for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, for our Overseas Territories like Gibraltar, and also for the Crown Dependencies".

Mrs May stressed the deal would “honour the result of the referendum" by allowing the UK to "take back control" of its money, laws and borders.

"It is a deal for a brighter future, which enables us to seize the opportunities that lie ahead," she added.

But the First Minister hit out at the PM's public message saying: "Almost nothing in this desperate letter is true," and challenged Mrs May to a head-to-head debate on the Brexit deal, tweeting: “I’d be up for a full leaders’ debate on the ‘deal’. So, how about it PM @theresa_may?"